HAVN HS420 - AM5 build refresh

[ci_newman]

The last time I properly rebuilt my system was for the launch of the HTC Vive some 9 years ago when I built a system around a Phanteks Enthoo Pro case. Systems and cases have moved on a lot since then and combined with a planned GPU upgrade this felt like the ideal time to scratch my upgrade-itus and rehome / upgrade my system. As an added benefit, my kids have been bugging me about updating their old i5 8500/980Ti system so perfect timing for some hand me downs for them.

The build will be focused around the HAVN HS420 case. I've never owned a glass panel case before and this will allow me to gaze lovingly on my new build, whilst giving me all of the options I might need for the next 9-10 years of system builds. I've never delved into RBG either so this will be my first toe-tip into visually appealing cases rather than my previous function-over-form builds. I favoured the horizontal GPU mounting rather than the optional vertical mount as I don't have any immediate plans to install fans in the bottom of the case. I guess I can always upgrade to the vertical mount if / when the optional kit is released in the future.

I'm aiming for a decent midrange performance, some of the components will be coming from my existing system and some will be new. In particular the mobo, CPU and case fans will be coming across from the Phantek initially but the fans are all Noctua units and don't really suit the glass panelled aesthetic. For the first time ever for me, it will be an all-AMD build too. Planned components:

Case: HAVN HS420
PSU: Seasonic Focus GX-850
Mobo: Gigabyte B650M Gaming-X AX
CPU: Ryzen 7 7700x
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 32GB 5600MHz
GPU: Gigabyte OC 9070XT
Cooler: Thermalright Aqua Elite 360 V3

I have most of the components at hand already and will document here as I go

 

[ci_newman]

Before starting the build, I unboxed the case to make sure all of my planned components would fit in the way that I wanted them to.

The top of the box gives some very helpful unboxing instructions!

Under the top is a box with all of the mounting screws and instruction manual:

Then rather unusually, despite all of the warnings of "this way up", turn the box over to remove it:

Then finally removed from the packaging

and figuring out how the panels are removed so I can compare component fittings

My first impression, it's a heavy beast! It weighs nearly 18Kg, which compared to my Phantek at 11Kg is quite a difference! It is very study and well built though, even with the side panels removed there is no flex or movement in the chassis which is impressive given that one corner is frameless thanks to the glass panel. For anyone else interested in this case, be careful when positioning the glass panel when it's removed from the case. I placed it upright on the floor but knocked it over on more than one occasion. Thankfully no damage, but being a glass panel I probably need to be more careful with it than my previous all-metal case All in all though, I'm very impressed with the case and the design choices.

I plan to work on the build over the weekend so will update next week with more photos and plans

 

[JonRGV250]

I’m trying really really hard not to buy that case, it does look very nice.
Just the cost of 11 daisy chain fans that’s stopping me.
Look forward to seeing it built.

 

[jello]

Built a new system in the HS420 a couple of months ago. Really is a lovely case and easy to build in. And yes....definitely factor in the cost of fans before buying as it quickly adds up. Although I suspect cooling would still be more than adequate if the HDD caddies were left in situ.

But it certainly is a heavy beast. More so once you add a PSU and components!

 

[mercyless]

Look forward to seeing the built.

 

[ezekial]

That is a very nice case. Gonna look great!

 

[jabski]

Nice collection of parts. Case looks good too. Looking forward to seeing this project progress

 

[Gershy13]

Really nice case isnt it! I'm waiting on some parts and doing an am4 to am5 upgrade build with the same case!

 

[novalis]

Looking good. Looking forward to seeing more of the build

 

[Stelly]

Yer same, looking forward to seeing this finished mate - new PC by proxy

Stelly

 

[darkblade]

Not seeing a huge pile of fans in the photos to go in the case!
Always great building a machine from all new parts. (Beats finding that the case isn't big enough for the AIO, or the PSU doesn't have enough CPU power cables, etc, etc)

 

[ci_newman]

Not seeing a huge pile of fans in the photos to go in the case!
Always great building a machine from all new parts. (Beats finding that the case isn't big enough for the AIO, or the PSU doesn't have enough CPU power cables, etc, etc)

That's because there aren't many. I'm planning a pretty simple fan layout and will add more if I find heat to be an issue.

I'm going with the following layout, minus the three lower fans currently:

The 7700X runs hot but the AIO will take care of that. The 9070XT are pretty low temp cards overall (50c as an average). With the PSU sitting inside its own shroud I dont have to worry about exhausting the heat from that either.

It appears to be really easy to add additional fans at a later date too

 

[Gershy13]

That's because there aren't many. I'm planning a pretty simple fan layout and will add more if I find heat to be an issue.

I'm going with the following layout, minus the three lower fans currently:

The 7700X runs hot but the AIO will take care of that. The 9070XT are pretty low temp cards overall (50c as an average). With the PSU sitting inside its own shroud I dont have to worry about exhausting the heat from that either.

It appears to be really easy to add additional fans at a later date too

Only one intake? Isn't that going to cause huge negative pressure?

 

[ci_newman]

Only one intake? Isn't that going to cause huge negative pressure?

Sure, but unless my knowledge is out of date then the only issue with that is potentially more dust inside the case. Given the case design all of the air gaps have dust filters on them already including the non-glass side panel. End result is slightly more maintenance with cleaning dust filters but there's little performance difference between negative and positive pressure.

Happy to take advice though

 

[Gershy13]

Sure, but unless my knowledge is out of date then the only issue with that is potentially more dust inside the case. Given the case design all of the air gaps have dust filters on them already including the non-glass side panel. End result is slightly more maintenance with cleaning dust filters but there's little performance difference between negative and positive pressure.

Happy to take advice though

True i guess. From what i've seen, negative pressure has a slight performance benefit at the cost of dust. However in this case I think you're right most of the holes have dust filters on them, so this wouldn't really be a problem as long as you clean the filters often.

 

[ci_newman]

A very overdue update for me I built the system a couple of weekends ago but life has been too busy to update the thread. Some more work needed, particularly around case fans (brown doesn't suit a glass case) but I'm happy with the outcome so far.

First up was unboxing and fitting the PSU:

At first glance it looked like this PSU only came with 2 x PCIE cables and my 9070XT needed 3. Turns out I had just put the third PCIE cable in a different pile, *phew*

and fitted to the case:

Next up was the motherboard. These lifted straight out of my Enthoo so it was just a case of adjusting the motherboard risers in the case and slotting it in (HAVN have included a nifty little tool to help with riser removal / addition, its my favourite tool in my PC toolbox now). I didn't mention storage in my OP, but I've got 2 x NVME drives already mounted under the heatsink on the lower part of the motherboard. I don't use my PC for media storage and have had no issues with 2TB of storage in there so have no immediate plans to add additional SSD.

Next up was unboxing and fitting the cooler. I haven't used an AIO since the first generation Corsair H60 many many years ago, so I'm interested to see how this performs. The 7700x chips runs very hot anyway. This mobo doesn't have a dedicated CPU water pump socket so I'm using the CPU fan socket and will manually set it to 100% in the BIOS. The mobo does have an RBG socket too but I've never used it before. I'll fiddle with it later:

The mounting bracket in the case is fully removeable which makes fitting very easy:

and finally fitted in the case. It was very fiddly getting the AM5 mounting kit to line up properly for the AIO. Lots of loosening and tightening of the mounting screws until I could get the pump aligned properly, which was very different from the NH-D15 mounting kit I used before which was perfectly aligned the first time I used it on the same board.

Next up was the GPU. As mentioned in the OP, I've gone with a Gigabyte Gaming 9070XT. It's the first time I've ever actually bought a GPU brand new. My past cards were all purchased second hand from the MM previously (I've been here a lot of years...). I was a little disappointed that the card still uses 3 x standard PCIE rather than the newer 12VHPWR connector, but the PSU does support 12VHPWR so will last me for future upgrades. Some clever design choices on the case for the PCIE slot brackets, HAVN have shown that they're clearly thinking about accessibility when working on the case:

First fitting of the GPU:

But I didn't like where the cables were running, so second attempt that I was much happier with (a 12VHPWR would have been much neater though rather than the 24 cables used on 3 x PCI-E cables):

and how it looks from the back:

The eagle eyed will notice I'm using the fan controller that comes with the case for my fans. The case comes with two separate fan controllers, top right and bottom left on that picture above. If I add additional fans to the lower part of the case, likely I'll use the second controller. The glass panelling makes it difficult to get nice pictures, but hopefully these give some good idea:

Next steps, a bit of Overclocking and seeing monitoring heat levels and upgrade the fans based on that Brown really doesn't suit the case, but I want to look at the performance before deciding what to swap next next.

 

[ci_newman]

Totally forgot to mention the GPU bracket, it was one of the reasons I liked this case in the first place. GPUs these days are very heavy and I definitely got sagging with my 2080ti in my old Enthoo. Adjustment of the bracket was very easy and gives me peace of mind that I don't have to worry about sagging / the card coming out of the socket.

 

[Fluffybob]

Looking nice and tidy